Caught in the Drift
by r2mich2
Summary: Instead of Kaiju, Titans emerge from breaches all over the world, attacking and eating humans. With the creation of the jaeger, humans are able to battle against titans and save humanity. However, finding compatible pilots is tougher than it looks and the numbers of possible pilots are dwindling. Jean Kirschstein faces this first hand. (Jeanmarco, PacRim AU, other pairings inside)
1. One Step too Short

_**Okay, before I even say anything about the actual story, I'd like to thank and credit yorks-missing-eye on tumblr. She and I have been working in accordance for the past few weeks to create this little Pacific Rim AU and it's sorta become our baby and I'm very happy to be writing it for/with her. SO SHOUT OUT TO HARLEE. (btw im r2mich2 on tumblr for any questions)**_

_**AAAND now back to le description by le author. This fic is mostly Jean/Marco centric though when I say that I don't mean it by a lot. There's a lot of character's I'm going to be delving into the best I can and there's about 500 different pairings. The two pairings that will probably get stressed the most, are Eruri and JeanMarco.**_

_**As for Nationalities on characters. Since Isayama hasn't given nationalities and technically nationalities don't really exist aside from origin in normal AOT universe, I've just sorta picked some that might work or just some at random. Don't take them as canon and I apologize if they don't match up to your thoughts. I'm just using nationalities for the sake of diversity and not everyone could be German.**_

_**Warnings(this is individual to chapter): Blood, Gore, Cursing, Mentions of Death, Amputation, Homosexuality**_

_**Pairings: Levi/Erwin Smith, Jean Kirschstein/Marco Bodt, Eren Jaeger/Armin Arlert, Mikasa Ackerman/Annie Leonhardt, Reiner Braun/Bertholdt Fubar, Ymir/Christa Renz, Petra Ral/Auruo Bossard**_

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_Icelandic Breach, 10 Miles from the breach AKA the Miracle Mile_

"_You think we'll run into any titans?"_ Eren's excited voice echoed through the communications systems of Winged Freedom's con-pod. Levi and Erwin both shot each other a look from their different sides of the helm. It was clear to them they didn't like Eren's ignorance towards their job.

Danger was almost always imminent and the new kids with their new jaegers always forget that fact. It often killed a few and while Armin and Eren _were_ new and usually Erwin and Levi would play it off to be fate, they wouldn't allow something to happen to those two boys. The two elder jaeger pilots had known the two younger ones since the start of the titan phenomena. Eren Jaeger and Armin Arlert were closer than other young pilots. They were almost a part of their whack-job family of sorts.

"_Shut up Jaeger. Simulations are shit compared to the real thing."_ Levi quipped back naturally. He and Erwin had been overlooking the teen's training since he'd enlisted into the program. Eren Jaeger was a personal case, his mother having been eaten by a titan right before his eyes. He was also the kid whose animated behavior towards killing titans spawned the naming of the robotic technology they used to fight such monsters.

Armin could be heard making a comment to Eren over the feed, most likely something about Levi being right. Either way it was muffled.

There was a small static that came over the communication feed and Erwin and Levi both turned their heads and the jaeger's head towards the direction of Giant Slayer, (god forbid Eren actually name his jaeger something sophisticated). There was nothing in their direction that seemed like it could cause interference, so they continued on as normal while the communication was temporarily shut out.

They were unaware of the utter static that the Shatterdome was receiving at that moment, cutting off even their connection to those who could warn them of any new emerging threats.

Continuing on their planned route, Levi and Erwin moved their jaeger in the direction of the perimeter of the breach. Larger and larger titans had been coming out of the breaches all around the world, most of which focused where volcanoes were and the fault lines were weaker.

From what they heard recently, the base in Italy was nearly overrun when a large hoard of titans had come out of the breach at Vesuvius. Two jaegers were lost or heavily damaged from what was in the news.

In a far off part of Levi's mind, one that Erwin often didn't look into, he wondered if it would happen in their current placement. Iceland was one of the more isolated breach areas and since titans weren't as adept at swimming, they typically didn't have many jaegers in the area.

Levi and Erwin had often discussed whether or not they'd get transferred to somewhere on the Pacific Rim where the ring of fire led way to more breaches. America had been pulverized in the first few waves of titans because for a long while no one knew how to take them down.

Nowadays, most jaegers were stationed in the Americas and Levi and Erwin were waiting their turn.

Having been deep in thought, Levi didn't notice the static building up on the communications as it became louder and less bearable. "It sounds like someone is sending out communication." Erwin muttered under his breath out of instinct.

Levi focused on hearing it, straining his ears as he did hear the underlying voice. Slowly, he could tell there was yelling and much panic.

Soon it became evident that the static was coming from the Shatterdome as the voices didn't resemble those of Eren or Armin in tone and the two teens were the only ones who actively had contact with Winged Freedom.

"_Large…heading…yo…tion…._" The voice kept cutting off into static. Levi cursed out loud, something about the atmosphere seeming wrong. Usually when danger was closing in, you got that tingling feeling on the back of your neck that made your spine shake with unease. Levi was getting that feeling.

"Levi." Erwin's voice echoed through the con-pod. The blonde was giving him a look that was an effort to calm him down.

Levi scowled and they both turned towards the Giant Slayer's direction. Just as the other jaeger came into view, something hit them from behind, jolting the systems and the jaeger.

At the time, the voices of Eren and Armin returned over the communications systems. Eren was screaming about something and Armin was attempting to calm him down. Three titans had latched onto their jaeger, pulling and biting at the metal to get to the meaty humans inside it.

"_Eren! You have to stay calm!"_ Armin's shrill tone called just as another titan crashed into the side of the Winged Freedom. "_Eren_!"

Erwin went to speak through the closed end of their communications systems but Levi stopped him with a mental prod. "That might just be what saves them." Levi stated plainly before they both focused on the titans pulling and grabbing for purchase on the back and sides of their jaeger. Alarms were blaring through the systems of the con-pod and the pain from the drive suits where technology went missing was growing as more and more parts of the jaeger were pulled off.

Managing to pull the titan from their side around, they tore off the head of the titan, also taking out the delicate weakness at the nape of their neck. Levi and Erwin paused to focus on the titan behind them when they heard what damage was being wrought on the other jaeger.

The hitch in the Winged Freedom's movements cost them more damage than they could deal with. A large titan hand, bigger than any other they'd seen, wrapped around the front of the con-pod. Its fingers dug into the metal of the Winged Freedom's face, closing in around the right side where Erwin was situated.

"Erwin!" Levi yelled, borderline horrified by what was happening though not breaking from his typically emotionless face. About to detach himself from the jaeger and reach for his partner, he screamed in agony as several smaller titans latched onto and tore into the left leg of their jaeger at the ankle.

With as much strength as he could muster, Levi ignored the pain and braced his leg to continue standing. He needed to keep focused on the situation at hand.

Levi was confused by the lack of panic flooding from Erwin's side of the drift. While the man was never one to break down in a situation that was frightening or seemingly impossible, he'd think that having a titan about to kill you would break that. Levi had witnessed it in other pilots firsthand.

The titan who had its grip on the con-pod finally pulled and everything happened so fast neither of them knew what was going on until Erwin was hanging loosely in his connections to the jaeger and his right arm was barely intact, spewing blood at an unnatural rate where the metal had caught and pulled.

"Erwin!" Levi shouted, feeling the pain his partner felt through the rapidly fading neural handshake. Erwin was passing out quickly, losing consciousness to the damage done to his arm. The cold Icelandic air blew in through the damage done to the side of the jaeger and Levi could see through his own eyes the Giant Slayer taking out what seemed to be several titans.

He couldn't focus on it, his eyes going blurry from both his and Erwin's pain. To focus, he shut out the connection to his partner as much as he could and focused on killing the titan behind them.

He came face to face with a titan that had female features, and it almost looked more human than the other titans they fought on a daily basis. The hand that was holding the missing piece to the con-pod was shining blue, almost crystalized.

As the titan went reaching for them again, Levi felt a sudden jolt and looked to his right. Erwin, while still covered in blood and looking dead enough already, was back into position with Levi and no longer hanging loosely in the connections to his drive suit.

"Don't write me off like that, Levi." Erwin warned, giving an authoritative tone that forced Levi to frown. "Go shit yourself, Erwin." Levi replied back bitterly and they raised the left arm of the Winged Freedom to punch the female titan square in the face.

But they soon found that they couldn't because mid-banter the thing had taken off running in the direction of the breach. It was gone from their sight within minutes.

They didn't have time to question it, turning towards the Giant Slayer as it had two titans latched onto it and pulling at its armor. There was evidence of several more evaporating after death.

Forcing Erwin to move was a bad idea but without the help of the elder pilots, Eren and Armin wouldn't last very long. There was evident damage to their jaeger and it would cause them problems if they continued fighting.

They moved towards the two titans and the two younger pilots, grabbing a titan off the side of the Giant Slayer and then slicing through its neck with the sword component built into the left arm. Meanwhile, Eren and Armin took care of the last titan.

"_I killed my first titan!" _Eren's excited voice echoed through the communications link even though he'd killed several by the looks of it. At the same time Armin's concerned voice rang through. "_Captain, Commander, are you…"_

Erwin didn't get to hear the last of what Armin said before he passed out and the alarms blared, telling Levi that their neural handshake had broken. Ignoring that fact, Levi disconnected from the con-pod and limped over towards the other unconscious pilot. The adrenaline that had helped him ignore the damage to his leg was gone.

Forcefully, Levi pulled Erwin down to the floor of the con-pod. "Erwin." He said relatively calmly though his mind was racing. He quickly grabbed one of the loose, durable wires from the jaeger that had been exposed from the damage and tore it loose to use as a tourniquet for Erwin's arm. From what it looked like, the damage was much worse than previously imagined. There was a large likelihood of amputation.

Somewhere in the back of his mind and focus, Armin's voice ordered a chopper lift from the area so they could get the pilots back to the Shatterdome and Erwin back to a hospital.

All the while, Levi could feel the ominous realization of never piloting a jaeger again with Erwin Smith and his own future didn't look too bright either. The pain in his ankle was burn damage from the drive suit reacting to titans on the armor. It was often that this happened to pilots and depending on where the damage was, it could be permanent.

Facing the cold truth that came down his spine like freezing water and ice, Levi held the back of his head and tore off the helmet he was wearing. He could barely focus on the sound of the choppers and the movement of the other jaeger as a painful headache came over him.

Humanity's best had just been eliminated from the ring.

-o-o-o-

_Three Years Later, Alaskan State Breach Shatterdome_

"Shut your mouth Jaeger, or I'll shut it for you." Jean Kirschstein warned in an angry tone as he held up his fist to show that he would in fact punch Eren Jaeger in the throat if he saw it fit. The two of them were exiting the Shatterdome, passing many technicians and mechanics as they went.

The shorter male laughed. "You're jealous because you can't drift with Mikasa!" Eren stated as he jabbed a finger into Jean's chest to prove it. Jean growled in response, about ready to pummel the kid senseless if he didn't stop antagonizing him. It had happened many times before and Jean was very willing to do it again.

Luckily, the presence of Armin Arlert stopped Eren from going any further. "Hey, that was a really great run you guys." He smiled nervously, seeing the frustration on Jean's face. "I wish we were more compatible, that way we could all pilot that jaeger together." He continued in a very sportsmanlike manner.

Jean had to wonder how Armin put up with Eren, especially when the two went on missions together. Heck he even wondered about the rumors that often passed around the base about Eren and Armin's 'friendship' which may or may not be bordering something else. There was no proof yet, however, and it was unlike Armin to admit anything. Besides, Eren was too busy yelling about titans all day for any romance.

"Yeah, Armin. Hopefully one of us can get put on the team. It's the first three pilot jaeger yet." Jean responded kindly, never having had anything against Armin. It was just his disgusting partner. Maybe he was a little bit jealous towards Eren, but that was mostly because the dick had the entire jaeger program named after him.

Armin hummed in thought for a moment before shaking his head. He was probably thinking about the possible combinations they could put together for optimal drift compatibility. "Eren and I won't be on the team. Eren can't drift with anyone aside from you, me, and Mikasa and none of the combinations we'd make up would work." He stated as a matter of fact.

Jean exhaled heavily. "Our run wasn't too bad." He made the mistake of saying before Eren quickly interrupted. "I'm not piloting a jaeger with you, horse face." Eren quipped.

"You two used to drift perfectly. What happened?" Armin asked, frowning at the two's utter distaste for each other. Eren seemed to cringe at a memory and Jean shook his head as if Armin wouldn't understand.

Without another word to the two pilots, Jean made his way towards his room in the barracks, unhappy with the day's results. So far, his search for a drift partner was looking dismal. While he could drift with both Armin and Eren, the results were choppy and would lead to a dysfunctional jaeger in the middle of battle. There were enough incidents were pilots were lost from such things like that.

There weren't enough cadets in the Alaskan Shatterdome that could handle Jean's personality either. That fact made Jean hate himself all the more. He'd had a partner before when he'd been initially paired up in France, but after they'd been employed to the Vesuvius breach and titans were spilling through like mad, an incident involving a stray titan prevented any further missions.

Jean only had a few months of piloting under his belt and his jaeger was put on the stockpile as the number of possible partners dwindled. After six months of hunting for a partner and finding no results, he resigned to the perimeter team and fought in the military robot exoskeletons that took out the smaller Category A and B titans the jaegers often missed.

After doing that for around a year, Jean received a letter from the Alaskan Shatterdome addressed to him that they had more cadets there and that they had room for his jaeger. Jean had been extremely excited when that happened but after another six months of sitting around with his jaeger and no one to pilot it with, he doubted that coming had been a good idea.

He had found drift partners though, they were just not the perfect drift partner. Probably the only good thing about coming was being able to go on two runs with Eren Jaeger, back when they were semi-friendly, and being able to drift with Lance Corporal Levi.

The Alaskan Shatterdome was different than others because it was run by both Commander Erwin Smith and Corporal Levi. Not only that, but because of the particular amount of titans that came through the breaches in Alaska, it was the optimal place for head scientist Hanji Zoe to spend most of her time. She had been the inventor of the drift technology and led research on the titans.

Rumor has it, she used to be a pilot herself but she was literally too insane to drift with anyone and after one awry mission, she had been put back on her science and technology duties.

Jean tended to avoid her as much as possible, thus the reason why he'd take a shortcut to get to the barracks rather than pass by the science and research department. Yet, this particular week, she was out of town and visiting the breach in Japan and he had no such need.

That didn't mean Jean wouldn't run into any people he didn't want to because as he turned a corner, he was met with the super short, and nine times out of ten, super angry Corporal.

"Corporal!" Jean yelped nervously. He'd gotten into trouble many times with the shorter male. Not only was Levi the head cadet trainer when it came down to drift technology, but he was like the Alaskan Shatterdome's resident mom and not in the caring sense. The Alaskan Shatterdome was the cleanest, most organized Shatterdome in existence because of Corporal Levi.

Levi glared up at Jean with his typical look that said he was disgusted with you. If it wasn't that, it was pure apathy. Never once had Jean seen him change expressions. "New cadets are arriving tomorrow. I suggest you report to the training area early." Levi stated in his typical monotone with a hint of dislike that he gave everyone that he spoke to.

Jean nodded his head, swallowing on reflex. Levi gave him one last look before walking past him and making his way towards wherever he was going.

Once the male had passed, Jean relaxed his shoulders and kept walking. Ahead of him he could see the entrance to the mess hall, bustling with mechanics and the few occasional cadets or pilots. For the most part cadets didn't stay long in any particular base because of the constant search for drift compatible partners.

Jean frowned, contemplating going into the mess hall for food but they were limited on that as it was. He barely made it three yards from the entrance before Connie Springer called out behind him. "Jean!" The overly excited baldy yelled as he waved his arms.

Slowly and reluctantly, Jean turned around. If you wanted to avoid getting pranked you wanted to avoid Connie Springer and for the most part, his partner Sasha Braus. Sasha was pretty tame on her own, just give her food and she'll be satisfied but Connie had a tendency to prank people left and right. How the two Scottish pilots hadn't been kicked out of the Alaskan Shatterdome was a mystery.

They piloted the Highland Avenger together and had a good record but the two of them were almost always being delinquents when around the Shatterdome. Jean was glad that he didn't even have to try drifting with the two of them. Yet, at the same time, the two of them did get very serious when it came down to actually fighting titans and that was a blessing in the least.

"What do you want, Connie?" Jean groaned, not ready for being dragged into another elaborate plan to get more food than they were allowed. Jean hated those plans.

Connie quickly ran over, an excited look on his face. "I heard about the new cadets!" He prompted and Jean raised an eyebrow in confusion. "And? Why the hell are you excited about this?" Jean said back in a judging tone.

"Because if you get a partner then I can finally beat your ass while sparring!" Connie responded excitedly. From time to time the energetic pilot would talk about beating up Jean because Connie's jaeger had to be so much better than Jean's _Frenchie _jaeger.

Jean crossed his arms. "I could beat you up right now if you'd like." Jean replied the same as he always did and on a few occasions they had physically sparred before. Connie had won once while Jean had a record of three wins to one loss.

Connie frowned, turning his head back towards Sasha who was still standing in the doorway to the mess hall. "Maybe tomorrow." He said sheepishly. "I've got graveyard tonight." He admitted as an afterthought though Jean didn't think he was lying. No one lied about graveyard.

"Good luck with that." Jean smirked anyway, not going to extend the sympathies too far. Connie stuck his tongue out at Jean, cursing under his breath before returning to his partner's side. It was probably a good idea for the two of them to go take a nap or something before they went titan hunting later.

Jean rolled his eyes at Connie and walked the rest of the way back to his room without interruption. Once he reached the door, he unlocked it and pulled it open, sliding inside before walking the three steps it would take him to drop on the closest corner of his bed. The rooms were small, outfitted for at most two people. Jean didn't have a fellow pilot to share it with yet so he had been alone from the start.

Frustrated, Jean rolled over so he could pull off his boots and curl up. He was basically useless and it bothered the heck out of him. Sometimes he'd help school the cadets with Levi since the male couldn't always spar with everyone and not every morning were Eldo and Gunter available to help out. The damage done to Levi's ankle three years before had damaged his Achilles and while it had healed quite beautifully for the most part, physical movement was made difficult.

The corporal had a habit of fighting only standing on one leg now and occasionally you could see him rubbing his right arm like there was some sort of existing ghost pain. Jean didn't like thinking of the damage done to previous pilots. It made him wonder what he was doing trying to become one again.

Reluctant to do much of anything else, Jean rolled over and fell asleep after an hour of thinking about how another chance at piloting had just walked by him. Chances like fighting in a jaeger that required three pilots because of its sheer size were practically impossible and the miracle that dumped this chance on him didn't have enough extra magic to make him properly drift compatible.

Jean just hoped that sometime, before humanity either sorted out the titan issue or died trying, he'd get a drift compatible partner.

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_**Any and all mistakes/errors please point out to me and feedback! I love feedback! **_

_**Plus, it may or may not be a running gag that scenes start with someone telling Eren to shut up. XD I have no idea but it happened and a friend pointed it out and its sort of sticking XD**_


	2. Frustratingly Nice

_**Didn't think I'd get this out so fast but here it is XD Have some Jean x Rejection and a insufferably cute Marco**_

_**Pairings: Jean/Marco, Erwin/Levi, Eren/Armin, Mikasa/Annie, Reiner/Bertholdt, Ymir/Christa, Auruo/Petra**_

_**Warnings: Eren Jaeger, that which comes with Eren Jaeger, homosexuality, stubbornness, minor cursing, mentions of death, Amputees**_

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Almost every morning, Eren Jaeger ran through the hallway of the barracks giving his own mutated sort of wake-up call whether the kid had the graveyard shift or not. That wake-up call consisted of yelling about his titan killing record at the top of his lungs or giving some speech about how they were going to kill all the titans today.

Needless to say, Jean never set an alarm because of it. He was always awake by six in the morning because of the psychotic idiot.

That morning, Eren had chosen to brag about his titan killing record. Luckily, the response to Eren's shouting was quick because as Jean could hear through the walls of the base, Connie had stepped out of his room and thrown something at Eren to make him stop. Connie proceeded to make the remark, "Shut up, Eren. Sleep is a gift and people shouldn't mess with other people's presents" before going back to his and Sasha's shared room.

Needless to say, when Jean left his room lazily dressed and looking like a mess ten minutes later, he found a boot sitting in the middle of the hallway where Connie had undoubtedly chucked it at Jaeger's head.

Slowly rubbing the sleep from his eyes and running a hand through his messy hair, he started making his way down the halls so he could make it to the mess hall at roughly the correct time. All the good food would be gone if he didn't get there quick enough.

Strolling into the mess hall six twenty, Jean made his way over to get a tray of food as quickly as possible. A few mechanics and rangers gave him dirty looks or looks of questioning. Most people wondered what he even did around the Alaskan Shatterdome all day aside from sleeping and picking fights with pilots.

He sneered at a few of the mechanics he remembered from past experiences. Jean was very protective of his jaeger and anything done to it had to go through him first. That was, of course, unless the mechanics had direct permission from Hanji or another higher up.

After piling some hash browns, a few sausages, and a breakfast sandwich onto his plate, Jean made his way over to the pilots' tables. Typically, the pilots would sit separately from everyone else. It wasn't that they weren't friendly either. It was because of the weird effects of drifting that made you want to stay near your partner and no one else. The only people who understood that were pilots.

Jean noticed that Eren and Armin were the only ones around aside from a few stray cadets that had stayed while the others left for different Shatterdomes and different futures. Jean remembered attempting a drift with one of them, and testing compatibility with all of them. He didn't find them good company though.

Preferring to sit next to Armin, even with the knowledge that he'd be near Eren, he dropped down at the table with the three other pilots.

Nearby, one of the overhead televisions played the news and they could hear about some stray titan getting past defenses and eating some poor group of people. It was an often occurrence and you couldn't really avoid seeing it on the news. Jean remembered when it was his partner's picture on the obituary.

"Anything new happen?" Jean prompted. The other three were quiet, Eren's eyes trained on the television.

Armin sighed deeply and nodded. "Saturn went down last night in Japan with its pilots. We also lost Chaser last night on patrols. The damage will put it in the shop for at least three months before they can use it again and…" He explained before trailing off.

Jean exhaled deeply. He couldn't believe they'd lost one of their jaegers and both pilots to go with it. Desperate to change gears, he looked up. "Who are they being replaced with?" Jean asked, frustrated with the outcome. Erwin and Levi hadn't lost a jaeger in five months.

Armin shrugged in response. It was too early to tell. Erwin probably had to do is magic and work to get the next best team he could. Even if they found their three person jaeger team, they'd still need another team to fill the spot left by Cosmic Chaser.

As he ate, Jean wished he could fill the spot but he still didn't have a partner and would likely be without one for a long time.

Luckily, before Jean could descend into another bout of self-hatred, Mikasa Ackerman dropped down in the seat across from Eren and by virtue, the seat next to Jean.

"Mikasa!" Jean exclaimed excitedly, grinning before she had even set her tray down. The girl was also another pilot without a real team. Yet, she could still drift with Eren and when Hanji was around, Armin preferred spending some time in the research division anyhow. It worked out for her more often than it did Jean.

The female pilot didn't respond to Jean's attention. "Eren, did you eat any fruit?" She asked, ignoring Jean altogether. Eren turned to look at her for a moment before nodding and returning his attention to the news.

Jean frowned for a moment but didn't give up. "I must say Mikasa, you're looking fine today." He said as smoothly as possible, causing him to sound like a total cheese ball.

Mikasa finally turned to look at him, a glower on her face. Jean didn't falter. "You're hair looks wonderful. Did you do something with it? A hair cut?" Jean continued casually.

"No. You're two-tone hair just makes it look better by comparison." Mikasa replied blatantly. Armin had to put a hand over his mouth not to laugh and Eren was still too busy hearing things about titans to respond, let alone hear it.

Jean opened his mouth to say something, but then shut it, a small embarrassed redness appearing in his cheeks as he turned the other direction. Mikasa, now satisfied that she'd gotten Jean to stop talking to her, went back to pestering Eren about his life choices and health.

Feeling his self-esteem plummet to the floor, Jean looked to the clock to check the time. Hopefully the three of them would just leave. Then he remembered something as he took note of the time being almost six forty.

"What time did they say the new rangers would get here…?" Jean muttered as he turned back to the group. He was starting to think he wasn't on schedule.

Armin checked his watch. "They'll be here in about five minutes." He stated in accordance to the time.

"Shit!" Jean cursed, scrambling so he wouldn't be late.

-o-

The choppers that carried the fifteen new cadet rangers were ahead of schedule by four minutes. Standing outside waiting for them were Lance Corporal Levi and Commanding Marshal Erwin Smith. Both males, focused on the new recruits, hoped that maybe there might be a better outcome this go around.

"Keep positive, Levi." Erwin said, already knowing what the other was thinking from several years of being partners.

The shorter male rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Coming from the man with one arm." Levi commented dryly. Levi hadn't been impressed with their last batch of cadets, though he was rarely impressed by anyone.

However, as three Russians stepped out of the closest chopper, Levi found himself regretting that thought if only a slightly. The shortest, a bond female with a disinterested look that seemed to be burned into her face for all eternity, looked like she might be the next Mikasa Ackerman. It wasn't often you got someone with that much talent.

The two others were males, one taller than the other but slighter and with dark brown hair. The shorter, more built one was a blond with enough muscle to knock down a wall by himself if he desired such a thing.

The three Russians seemed to be glued together in a way that caused both Erwin and Levi to look at each other. If anything, that gave them a sign. The three of them could very well be drift compatible and hopefully any drift they could uphold was a strong one.

Following behind them were several other less impressive cadets and soon all fifteen were lined up in a row with their bags in their hands and ready to be showed around the Alaskan Shatterdome.

Erwin stepped forward, the long trench coat he was wearing billowing slightly in the wind and further accentuating the lack of a right arm. Most cadets were intimidated by Erwin's battle worn appearance but there were select few that didn't seem to react at all, three of which being the Russians and the other being a freckled male.

"The fifteen of you are the new replacement rangers who will be serving here in Alaska until the next rotation of rangers come in three weeks from now. Each of you will be tried for drift compatibility and tested with some of our current pilots. In addition, any three of you that can successfully and properly drift at the same time, will be given the chance to pilot the newest jaeger in production." Erwin paused, looking at the facial expressions of each of the new recruits.

Several of the rangers were excited, others remaining emotionless or in a default sort of state. "After the three week period had ended, you will be given the opportunity to stay here to fight on the perimeter lines if a jaeger piloting position has not been opened up for you. The choice whether to stay or go is yours. From here, you will be given a tour of the base and then taken for your preliminary exams led by Corporal Levi." Erwin explained in a calm yet defining tone.

A few faces turned to look at the shorter black haired male the moment he was mentioned. It was evident they knew who he was. It wasn't often someone came through that didn't know who Levi or Erwin were.

In that moment, Erwin gave them all a kind farewell and turned to go back to his warm, heated office that was no doubt filled with more paperwork. He did stop momentarily to pat Levi on the shoulder with his one arm reassuringly. Levi made a small grunt-like noise in response, staring down the cadets.

"Alright, all new recruits follow me." Levi ordered after a moment, moving towards the ground floor entrance to the Shatterdome. The group of cadets all followed obediently, some hurrying to make sure they didn't get into trouble with the corporal.

They soon entered on the ground floor of the base, walking straight into the area where the jaegers were stored and 'operated' on as Hanji Zoe liked to nickname it.

At the same time as they entered the jaeger storage bay, two males joined up with the group. One had black hair, spiked upwards even if he had minor helmet hair from what looked to be the helmets issued out for the rangers that piloted the smaller exoskeletons. The other male, a sandy blond with minor facial hair, looked relatively the same.

"Greetings new recruits! I'm Eldo Gin, that's Gunter Shulz. We'll be working with you part time in your testing." The blond greeted them excitedly as they all began to follow behind Levi, Gunter and Eldo walking backwards.

Gunter smiled in a welcoming manner. "This here jaeger," He paused to point up to the large jaeger to their right. "Is our good old baby Giant Slayer. She's a mark II, piloted by Armin Arlert and Eren Jaeger. If you're lucky you'll get to see them in action later." He described, gesturing towards the tall, more humanoid jaeger that was a deep chrome color. It was by far one of the most menacing jaegers in the field.

Eldo grinned. "And to your left, is the Highland Avenger. She's a mark III, piloted by Sasha Braus and Connie Springer. Highlander just went out last night for a patrol and took down six titans of the middle classes and one of a higher class." He continued their tour. Several of the recruits were beaming at the news, all whispering about their favorite jaegers from the news.

Eventually after walking a few more yards into the area were a few lesser known jaegers were being stood, one ranger raised their hand. "You have a question?" Gunter prompted, calling on the girl named Mina Carolina.

"Yes. Is it true about the rumors of Winged Freedom being kept somewhere under lockdown rather than in a jaeger graveyard?" She asked bravely, causing Levi to turn around at the head of the group where he'd been limping along.

Before Gunter or Eldo could respond, the Corporal answered her question for her. "No. The Winged Freedom was melted down for scrap metal parts after its defeat in Iceland." He stated coldly, obviously it was a little personal.

The cadet who'd asked the question, Mina, nodded her head nervously and regretfully before returning her attention to staring at the several jaegers.

Gunter and Eldo continued on as if everything was normal. "Lastly, not including the three person jaeger we have in stock in the back warehouse, we have the Cavalier Blanc, or translated from French, the White Knight." Eldo said as they all stopped for a moment.

Strung up and slightly dusted from lack of use was one of the more attractive jaegers in existence. The Cavalier Blanc was a mark III jaeger designed for showmanship and beauty. Almost the entire thing was a white platinum color and it was probably the most pleasing to the eye of all the jaegers since Winged Freedom rolled off the production line.

"Cavalier has been out of use for the past two years because its pilot has been unable to find a suitable drift partner. Hopefully one of you spry kids can drift with the poor old sod though. Good luck." Gunter and Eldo laughed together after Eldo had continued to explain the state of the jaeger and its use.

At the same time, one of the cadets stepped to the outside of the group where he was closest to Cavalier Blanc. The jaeger was barely being touched at all by mechanics other than for daily routine things like keeping joints from getting rusty and checking suspension on some of the cables.

The other cadets, following Gunter and Eldo began filing off to go travel to the next place. It was likely the control room of the Shatterdome. But at the same time, the one male ranger lingered for a few moments.

Levi, noticing it, stayed behind for a moment to grab the male's attention. Vaguely remembering the name of the kid from his profile in the folders on Erwin's desk, Levi stepped closer. "Marco, right?" He assumed and the ranger nodded his head.

"You had mechanical experience." Levi remembered, watching the young adult staring up at the jaeger longingly like a jaeger obsessed child if they were ever to meet their favorite jaeger and pilots in person. Marco seemed a little more mature than that, though. If Levi remembered correctly, this new ranger was a year or two older than their current batch of young pilots. It was probably from entering the mechanical field before entering the jaeger pilot program.

The freckled ranger nodded his head again. "I've been a jaeger mechanic for the past few years in Panama." He clarified before gesturing towards Cavalier Blanc. "I had been wondering where they were keeping this one since it was temporarily retired." Marco mused, picking up the nearest data tablet with the Cavalier Blanc's info on it.

Levi looked at the taller, freckled male and noticed he was one of the few who hadn't been bothered by Erwin's current state. "Lucky you. That one's half empty." Levi stated before turning to go and follow the rest of the group.

Before he could make it a yard from the Cavalier Blanc, a very disheveled looking pilot came running their way.

"Kirschstein." Levi acknowledged sourly as the solo pilot barreled on over with the least amount of grace possible. "I wanted you in the training room ten minutes ago. The cadets get there shortly." Levi reprimanded as the taller came to a stop in front of them, resting his hands on his knees as he sucked in breaths of air.

After a moment of recuperating he lifted his head. "To be fair, Corporal, you never specified any time yesterday." Jean retorted through heavy breaths, focusing on the shorter of the two black haired males.

Levi, clearly pissed off, smacked Jean in the side of the head and began walking after the group again. Upset by the blow but not injured, Jean rubbed a hand over the developing bruise and turned to look at the other male that had been with Levi.

Before Marco could really say anything, Jean noticed the data tablet in Marco's hands and frowned. "What the hell are you doing with my jaeger?" Jean asked in a more accusing tone than what was probably intended, or at least Marco liked to think that.

Marco frowned a little. "Those systems haven't been checked in a long time. The last time they were recorded as used was two years ago." He stated in his defense, trying to keep the disheveled and angry looking pilot from getting violent or anything of that sort.

"So?" Jean grumbled, calming slightly. He was still scowling and upset. "What business is it to you? You're not a mechanic." He seemed to think he was being smart but Marco smiled nervously, setting down the data tablet.

As carefully as he could, Marco stated otherwise. "Actually, I am. But that's not the point and either way I apologize for overstepping my boundaries. I'm Marco Bodt." He explained before greeting Jean, sticking out his hand for a handshake.

Jean stared at him for a moment before shaking his head and sticking his hands in the pocket of his jacket. It was his customized leather jacket with the Cavalier Blanc's name on it, a pilot's jacket. Every pilot tended to have one or something similar.

Marco seemed dismayed by the reluctance to shake his hand but he handled it well. "It seems like you didn't get much sleep?" He prompted awkwardly, gesturing towards Jean's messy looking hair and equally messy appearance.

Jean blinked in surprise before running a hand over his hair again to try and calm it somewhat. He blushed red slightly but not a lot, mostly out of embarrassment. "I…sort of." Jean lied.

Marco smiled in response. "Well, I should get back to the other rangers. I hope you can find yourself a fellow pilot." He said anxiously, starting to walk towards where the others were and where Levi had gone off to.

Jean grumbled something unintelligible in response, mostly just staring up at his jaeger trying to calm himself down. Marco smiled slightly at the behavior, walking ahead a few steps before pausing. "I like your hair, by the way." He stated honestly.

Still feeling the lingering pain from that morning when Mikasa had dissed his half bleached hair, Jean whipped around to make sure it wasn't some sort of crack at his appearance but all he found was a genuine face full of freckles and a reassuring look that said the male meant it.

Then Marco turned and left, leaving Jean both utterly pissed and more than slightly infatuated. The pilot had been trying to ignore the utter kindness in Marco's actions but watching the mechanic-ranger walk off he couldn't find a real reason to be pissed off at the guy. That didn't mean Jean wasn't a stubborn mule though, he'd act like he hated the guy until the ends of the Earth.

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_**Any and all errors please point out to me and comments are very welcome! If anyone has noticed the 'shut up eren' trend...i pat thee on the back.**_


	3. Surprise, Surprise

_**HEYO, okay here we go third chapter. Now, I want to say rather quickly that Jean is a stubborn brat and that Erwin and Levi's relationship is not very intimate (or at least as much as everyone else's I mean they got shit to do and they know they love each other cuz driftyness and it was probably really passionate back in the day when they were piloting the damn robot) ANYHOO, yeah they get gradually more intimate as we go. :3**  
_

_**Pairings: Jean/Marco, Erwin/Levi, Eren/Armin, Reiner/Bertholdt, Annie/Mikasa, Petra/Auruo, and probably some light Connie/Sasha evenutally idk**_

_**Warnings: Really Vague Fencing Sequence, Light Violence?, Light Cursing, and Connie being a tard XD**_

_****Also note for anon named Pumpiki, yeah its been on AO3 since the beginning dude idk why im posting it here****_

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Typically, the cadets that came through the Alaskan Shatterdome were often surprised at the unorthodox ways that the staff tested for compatibility. Instead of staff fighting like many of the Shatterdomes had adopted from the Asians, the Alaskan Shatterdome threw caution to the wind and introduced different forms of boxing or wrestling. They believed that a cadet should be able to fight in the way that worked best with their abilities.

Jean Kirschstein, for example, used fencing to test for drift compatible partners when he thought they were actually worth his time. Other times, he'd flush finesse down the drain and physically fight the cadets he was paired up with for the small possibility that they might be compatible. The thought was that if a ranger was really worth his time, they'd be willing to fight the way he wanted.

Levi, Eldo, and Gunter had all rolled their eyes the moment Jean arrived at the training room and went to the locker area only to come out with a sabre and its partner. The partner sword was dedicated to whoever would be willing to fight with him. Often that person would be Levi, seeing as the elder was the only other person at the Alaskan Shatterdome with formal fencing experience.

The cadets, most excited, were looking forward to showing off their skills to the Corporal and anyone else willing to watch. By the time Jean had shown up, a few spectators had come to judge the new crop of rangers. One of these few spectators was Erwin who at the same time could be seen leaving the room to call someone several times.

Ready to take the initiative, Eldo and Gunter both stepped forward to explain the instructions and how everything would go down. Levi and Erwin both stood back and let them do what they were meant to do.

"Alright cadets. We'll be testing you in an 'unorthodox' way. Most Shatterdomes have adopted the usage of staff fighting to test the compatibility of two pilots but we don't prefer that method. We believe each cadet has the right to fight in the way that is most comfortable to them." Eldo explained, catching the interest of several cadets.

Eldo gestured towards Jean. "An example would be Jean's preference towards fencing." He stated and in response Jean waved one sabre.

It was evident from Jean's facial expression that he was more pissed off than usual. The entire time he stood there, leaning against the wall with both sabres in hand, he had his eyes on one freckled cadet who seemed as content with the situation as any.

"While you're here, we will be searching for four cadets. Three of which must be compatible with each other, and one must be compatible with Jean Kirschstein." Gunter started to speak, explaining the purpose of the cadets. "For the first week we will drill you, and test your abilities, scoping out your compatibility. The second week will be the compatibility tests. Those of you who do not get chosen because of compatibility can choose to stay if you may during the third week and you may find a place in the Shatterdome to occupy yourself. This can be on the front lines or in the mechanical crew."

Marco seemed to perk slightly at the last statement from where he stood in the crowd. Another cadet, a shorter girl with black hair in pigtails, gave him a look of confusion and he awkwardly smiled back innocently.

"Alright, we will now be pairing you up in two person teams." Eldo clapped his hands and soon each cadet was getting rounded up. Seeing as there were only fifteen cadets, Jean was called forward into the rotation to take his place with them. He was paired up with the short girl with pigtails. Marco ended up with the tallest Russian with dark brown hair.

Gunter and Eldo each began giving instructions. Each team was to pair up and duel, in whichever manner decided upon by the two individuals, until the time was up and they would then change teams.

When Jean's partner was tossed the extra sabre, she looked confused. "I thought we would be agreeing on a fighting method." She said in a questioning tone and Jean held up his sabre, standing back a few feet. He focused on the name tag placed on her ranger's jacket. "Look, _Mina_, I'm not in the mood to argue about it."

The cadet, Mina, frowned but went along with it anyway. "What are the rules then?" She asked, unsure how Jean expected her to fence against him if she didn't know how to play.

Jean looked slightly exasperated that she had to ask but was cut off by someone in a group near them before he could answer her question. "That's a sabre so anywhere above the waist but the hands." Marco answered for him and Jean could be seen turning around, almost fuming.

"What are you? An expert on fencing too?" Jean growled back at Marco who was in the middle of dodging a blow from a staff. He and the taller Russian must have agreed on using staffs to fight, like the normal way.

Marco shook his head, smiling again. "I did a research paper on fencing in the fifth grade." He told, causing Jean to nearly want to rip his own half bleached hair out. Jean couldn't figure out how in the world Marco just seemed to know everything and how he could be so nice about everything.

Mina took her move at the same time Jean was about to retort, poking Jean in the chest with the sabre and catching his attention. When he turned back, ready to redirect his apparent 'fury' on her, she regretted making the move.

Needless to say, when everyone was forced to change partners, Mina was going to have a lot of pin sized bruises later. Soon enough she was replaced with the larger of the Russians, not the tallest. Jean, now at least a little bit intimidated, greeted him. "Jean Kirschstein." He said, sticking out a hand to shake the larger male's.

"Reiner Braun." The taller, bulkier blond replied and grinned. There was some sadistic pleasure in his eyes when he looked down at Jean's afraid, though he wouldn't admit it, expression.

Jean had to forgo the fencing, seeing as he wasn't willing to fight with Reiner over what the man preferred for his method of fighting and in minutes the two were wrestling. To be more accurate, Jean was being wiped the floor with and Reiner was barely breaking a sweat. It was obvious there was no compatibility there.

Marco, however, seemed to be doing quite well with a ranger named Thomas. The two had continued to fight using the staffs like in their previous matches and were able to get along quite well. Marco seemed to be a very agreeable personality and average when it came down to his fighting skills.

Eventually when they were getting towards the end and Connie Springer, Sasha Braus, and Armin Arlert had showed up to watch the trainees with the company of one of the resident medics Christa, Marco and Jean were about ready to get paired up together.

All throughout the exercise, Jean and Marco had been giving each other looks. Marco's were friendly and Jean's were almost accusative of some nature. Everyone had started picking up on the underlying tension, including Erwin and Levi who while they were not saying it, were thinking that there might just be a possibility to the two could be compatible drift partners.

Once the time came for Marco and Jean to actually face each other, the other cadets were exhausted with the exception of the Russians and everyone had sort of put off the activity to watch the two.

"So, what makes you prefer fencing?" Marco had question when he walked up to Jean to pair up with him. He looked very interested and seemed to be excited about the match.

The same, however, could not be said for Jean. Jean looked both tired and pissed off. There was an annoyed expression glued to his face the second he saw he'd have to go up against the infuriatingly nice Marco Bodt. "Parents made me take lessons." It was the only statement Jean offered up in response and he seemed about ready to pummel Marco at the first chance.

Marco grinned slightly at the statement but looked to be concerned about Jean's attitude going into the fight. He graciously took the second sabre into his hand and looked like he had at least some knowledge in how to properly fence. Jean begrudgingly tossed that off to his research in the _fifth grade_. Who even remembers that stuff?

"So, is anyone else feeling this…weird…vibe going on between those two?" Gunter asked Eldo, the two of them standing just a few feet in front of Connie, Sasha, Armin, and Christa. There was a simultaneous mumbling of 'yeah' as the group of spectators responded.

Sasha, holding a bag of potato chips halted in her eating and pointed towards the two males just standing there with swords in hand making no move to action. "They're not fighting." She pointed out blatantly.

Connie shook his head and stole a potato chip from his partner. "There's some strange sexual tension going on." He said, receiving a simultaneous mumbling of agreement as before given to Gunter.

Meanwhile, Jean finally made a move to lunch at Marco. Marco easily sidestepped out of the way, a nervous grin on his face. The smile on his face seemed to fuel Jean even more as he went to lunch at him again, pointing the tip of the sabre at Marco's chest.

Marco dodged the blow again, quite easily in fact and Jean continued several more times until he was standing there panting and frustrated. The fluidity of Marco's movements suggested he could tell each action and how it would turn out even before Jean moved a muscle. He seemed to predict everything.

Just when Marco thought he could make his own move, Jean ducked slightly out of way. Marco wasn't all that surprised, Jean was rather adept at the sport of fencing and could probably read into the moves of an amateur.

But as time went on and the both of them kept making moves to touch their sabres to the torso of the other male, neither of them ever landed a hit.

"Come on horse-face, you can do better than that." Connie spurred Jean on when more than five minutes passed of the two not landing one single hit on each other. Both of them just kept dodging, each move flowing into the next like some sort of dance.

This only served to piss Jean off while everyone in the room who was smart enough to tell was seeing the two had a very high chance of compatibility. Armin smacked Connie on the shoulder lightly when Jean let out a loud noise of frustration. "Why can't I hit you!?" He exclaimed angrily and Marco didn't answer.

While Jean continued to get more and more upset, Marco's ability to dodge him never faltered. He looked nervous because of Jean's emotional reaction but it was clear that Marco was more concerned than afraid.

"I think they're compatible." Armin muttered, watching the two continue. They were long past the time where they would have been told to stop. Gunter and Eldo had been keeping eye contact with Levi and Erwin, the two commanding officers in the room watching Marco and Jean fight with calculating looks.

Finally, after another minute of watching the two go at it, Erwin raised his hand in a small halting gesture so Eldo and Gunter could see. The two men nodded their heads to relay that they got the message.

"Alright, we're done. Preliminary evaluations will be taken into consideration for next week. Otherwise, you all can follow me to the cafeteria." Eldo's leading words were almost lost on Jean. Jean was too busy trying to land a hit on Marco but Marco stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder and handing him over the second sabre.

Jean still looked angry but that soon changed to confusion when Marco spoke. "I'm excited to see where we will be next week." Marco said honestly and nodded towards Jean before following the other cadets out of the room.

Once the newer rangers had cleared the room, Connie, Sasha, Armin, and Christa walked over to Jean who was the only one left aside from Erwin and Levi.

Connie patted Jean on the shoulder once. "I'm guessing that was the guy who pissed you off earlier?" He assumed and Jean nodded his head.

"He's still pissing me off now." Jean commented, catching the attention of Levi and Erwin. The two commanding officers had been silent throughout most of the exercise but both definitely had things to talk about.

Armin glanced over towards Erwin and Levi, making eye contact for a moment. It was clear Armin was thinking it too. The kid was smart. He could see things like compatibility from just simple interactions between people. He'd been studying it on his own for ages. Erwin and Levi both respected his opinion greatly.

Pulling away to leave the room, Levi and Erwin walked into one of the many locker rooms for privacy to talk. "They've been like this since they met." Levi commented, having watched Jean and Marco interact first hand.

"I wouldn't doubt it." Erwin replied back, sitting down on one of the benches in the middle of the room. Levi remained standing, looking around the area with slight scrutiny. While he had made sure everyone knew his standards for cleanliness, that day seemed lacking.

Erwin exhaled, seeming to have other things on his mind. He didn't typically show his more human side around other people. Levi was one of the few exceptions, seeing as they had shared thoughts together and drifted. The drift wasn't exactly what made them close in the first place. Levi's personality was one that Erwin could understand and the two of them had a long standing relationship. The matter that they were drift compatible was a small one.

"Jean's rough personality seems to be complimented by that ranger's accepting nature." Erwin concluded. "It's Jean's inability to understand kindness that makes him frustrated."

Levi nodded his head, remaining quiet for a few moments before glancing over to Erwin again. "You look like shit. What happened?" He asked, gaze narrowing as he stared down Erwin.

Erwin ran his hand through his hair and gave Levi a sly look for a moment. "Thanks." He smiled and then shrugged. "Bargaining with Nile over whether or not we needed another jaeger team to replace Cosmic Chaser." He explained.

The response was immediate. Levi's face went from moderate concern to deep disgust in seconds. "He thinks that everywhere else is top priority and less people live near our breach. I eventually got him to listen." Erwin continued, not needing any verbal reply from Levi. He already knew what the shorter was thinking.

"What shit did we get stuck with?" Levi asked, knowing very well that because of several reasons they were unlikely to receive a good jaeger team. "We're already operating understaffed." He grumbled, furrowing his eyebrows and turning his glare towards the wall.

Erwin watched him for a moment as if calculating how to say what he wanted. "Yankee Revolution will be arriving shortly." He stated simply, a small undertone of concern in his voice.

Levi reacted almost violently at that, borderline disbelief shadowing his features. "The jaeger or the team?" He interrogated, his voice urgent.

"Both." Erwin replied back. The look in his eyes was that of understanding and sympathy.

Levi turned away from his partner. "Shit." He cursed, thoughts rolling quickly through his mind. He didn't know what he'd wanted or whether or not receiving the jaeger and its pilots was a good thing or a bad thing. The entire thing was a bundle of confliction.

Erwin eventually stood up, walking over and placing his hand on Levi's shoulder. The shorter male looked extremely distressed. "It'll be fine." He tried to say reassuringly but knew that there wasn't much of anything that would make Levi feel better at that moment.

-o-

"Hey, did you guy's hear?" Eren's voice called as he ran into the cafeteria looking both sweaty and nasty from recently piloting Giant Slayer with Mikasa. The other pilot was walking in behind him calmly as he approached the table where Armin, Connie, Sasha, and Jean sat.

Sasha shook her head, sliding her food over so Eren had room to sit down next to her. "What's up?" She grinned but Eren flew right past her and picked up the remote off the table from between Armin and Jean. "Look!" He pointed towards the television nearest towards their table as he changed the channel.

Being prepared for transport in the Washington State Shatterdome was Yankee Revolution. "Yankee Revolution is getting shipped up here!" Eren exclaimed excitedly.

The rest of the table stared up at the screen suspiciously and somewhat with the same enthusiasm. The shot of Yankee Revolution was swapped over to the two pilots getting interviewed on the ground in front of it. Auruo Bossard and Petra Ral were grinning at the camera.

"_What are you looking forward to about being transferred to the Alaskan Shatterdome?"_ The newsperson asked, sticking her microphone out so Auruo and Petra could answer.

Petra smiled and leaned in towards the mic. "_I think the best part is getting to reunite with_ _our friends up north. Auruo and I were originally paired up in Alaska. Everyone up there is like family._" Petra explained into the microphone, causing Connie to turn back towards Eren.

"That's right, Petra and Auruo were part of Levi's first cadet group after he got injured. They were the same class as Gunter and Eldo." Connie said, having not been around the base at the time but he had heard about Levi's history with that class of rangers.

Eren nodded his head, finally plopping down beside Sasha. "Yeah, Petra was one of the nicest people I ever knew. It was sad to see her and Auruo get transferred." He reminisced, his thoughts traveling elsewhere.

Jean turned to look at Armin. He'd finally calmed down about Marco's niceness earlier. "Yankee Revolution is one of the jaegers with the most titan kills, right?" He asked, knowing Armin to be one of those people to remember statistics like that.

Armin nodded his head. "I wonder if Levi's happy to see them back home. Those rangers are like family to him."

Eren shrugged, watching as Mikasa sat down across from him. "Levi's one of those people who'd prefer not to be around the people he cares about." He stated as a matter of fact.

"Why is that?" Sasha asked curiously, receiving a shrug from Eren. "Hell if I know."

-o-

Jean had been coming back from the community showers located in the same area as the pilots' barracks, looking forward to a nice relaxing evening, when he'd spotted a certain ranger loitering around in the pilots' barracks with a bag in one hand and a paper in the other.

Said ranger hadn't seen him yet but did turn around at the sound of footsteps and water droplets hitting the metal floors of the hallways. Marco, initially shocked to see Jean, soon showed a face of appreciation at Jean's presence.

"Jean, I'm glad to see you. I need help finding my room." Marco smiled, seeming to have forgotten any difficulties that had come up earlier during the first training session.

Jean frowned, pointing past Marco and down the hall. "Cadets' barracks are that way." He grumbled, sauntering up to the freckled cadet slowly. Marco nodded his head.

"I know, but they said there wasn't room so they gave me a different room assignment down here." He explained, handing his paper over to Jean so the pilot could look at it. Jean gave him an odd look, frowning when he heard what Marco had said.

Typically, there was always room for every cadet when they came in. There wouldn't be any changes to that unless someone stole a bed for some odd purpose and Jean couldn't think of a reason why that would happen.

"Alright, fine." Jean grumbled, pulling the paper from Marco's hand and looking at it with scrutiny. It did in fact say that Marco was in the pilots' barracks. But the room number…

Jean quickly ran over to his room door just a few yards away, staring at the paper and then at the door several times. Marco, confused, walked up behind him and stared at the door. "Oh, that seems to be it." Marco grinned in thanks but Jean was still trying to grasp what was going on.

"WHAT?"

-o-

"Do you think Erwin and Levi knew what they were doing when they asked us to change that kid's room assignment?" Eldo muttered as he looked towards the empty bed in the cadets' barracks. It was difficult to know whether or not Erwin was making the right decision. Sometimes the shit he came up with sounded like it came from head of science, Hanji Zoe.

Gunter shrugged. "Probably. I mean, the two were looking compatible so putting them closer together must have been a better idea?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Eldo sighed as they both turned to leave the barracks and go and find themselves some coffee.

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_**Yeeee, please point out any errors to me. Also, thank you for the feedback and if you give me more I might update quicker lol. Idk it might spur me on.**_


	4. Return of the Many

_**Apologize for the later update. Work and shit. ALSO MOMMA HANJI FOREVER. **  
_

_**Pairings: Jean/Marco, Erwin/Levi, Petra/Auruo, Reiner/Bertholdt, Mikasa/Annie, Armin/Eren, Ymir/Christa, and eventually Connie/Sasha?**_

_**Warnings: Obsessive Mothers, mentions of titans eating people (you'd expect this right), Levi being utterly adorable, and SMILING ERWIN O NO **_

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Jean eventually got over having to share his room with Marco. Upper management kept telling him to shut up about it so he really had no choice. Forced to remove all his extra shit from the empty cot across his now shared room, Jean was finding himself shoved back into some semblance of a social life.

Marco seemed more average than anyone. He went to bed at normal hours, didn't wake up screaming from nightmares, and had the manners of any _dapper_ fellow you'd meet in a different era. Needless to say, some of his ideals were outdated and Jean wouldn't stop judging him or teasing him about it. Marco didn't seem to ever take offense but just smiled and laughed a few laughs to go back to what he was doing.

No matter how much Jean tried pissing Marco off, the results were the same. Marco seemed to give him a look that said he understood everything in Jean's head and he'd continue on as normal. Marco was _strange_.

The other pilots took a liking to him in seconds of having to share the same barracks as him. Armin and Marco hit it off when a conversation led astray leaned towards jaeger mechanics and suddenly the two seemed to be a match made in heaven. Or at least Jean thought that. Marco was likely compatible with Armin as well as anyone else. The guy had a malleable personality.

Even Mikasa warmed up to Marco. She may not have talked that much but the two shared a level of concern when Eren went off to do something off the walls crazy. Mikasa was happy he cared enough, even without knowing Eren for long.

Just a day into Marco moving in, he'd been inducted into the pilot's table for his meals. Connie and Sasha refused him to be allowed to sit anywhere else.

Lucky for Jean, Marco's schedule didn't necessarily have to coincide with his unless Levi made it law that Jean showed up at the cadet's training and tests. Typically he wouldn't interact with the new cadets until their compatibility week. Jean wasn't looking forward to the inevitable drifting with Marco. The guy was way too _nice_.

Everyone else seemed to love that about him as well. That was, everyone except Jean. Barring the fact that Jean didn't like Marco at all, he still spent a lot of time with him. Marco was convinced that he could help out with Cavalier Blanc. Jean still wouldn't let him touch the jaeger but the genuine interest in his jaeger did make him like Marco at least a little bit more.

Not that he would tell anyone that, though.

-o-

Both Marco and Jean were walking towards the jaeger bay, having heard about the arrival of Yankee Revolution. Marco was looking over a small notebook he had as he walked, staring at his notes on the specific jaeger. Jean was more interested in seeing the two pilots. Petra and Auruo were known to be some of the best jaeger pilots after Levi and Erwin.

They had been minding their own business, at least until Eren came running from the hallway they were walking down. The instant Eren spotted Marco and Jean he skidded to a stop in front of them. "Hanji's back early." He said in an almost horrified tone.

While Marco had never met the woman, Jean's face instantly turned to the same fear on Eren's. "Hanji Zoe?" Marco asked and Eren didn't have time to respond before he heard someone yelling from down the hallway.

"Can I hide in your room for a little bit?" Eren whispered quickly, frantic. He was looking at Marco more than Jean, knowing that in normal circumstances that Jean wouldn't have anything to do with Eren _Jaeger_.

Marco, puzzled, didn't respond before Jean just grabbed hold of Eren's arm and drug him back down the hallway towards the barracks. Having no idea what to do in the situation, Marco followed behind at a jog while the other two sprinted. In moments they were hiding in Marco and Jean's room, listening as footsteps rushed down the hallway outside.

At the same time, Eren was shoved under Marco's bed by Jean who was working rather hard to help one of his _sworn enemies_. Having heard about their rivalry from Connie the night before, Marco wondered why exactly the two were working together in such a situation. His only conclusion was that Hanji Zoe was a terror to them both and even Jean could sympathize.

About ready to ask about it, Marco's arm was pulled and he was forced to sit with his legs blocking any view of Eren and Jean dropped down beside him to do the same. After a moment of waiting, Marco finally asked. "Why are you hiding from Hanji Zoe?" He questioned, leaning down slightly to look at Eren from the top of the bed.

Eren, curled up in a ball in the dusty space that was under Marco's bed, responded back in a light whisper. "Hanji's nuts." He muttered before Jean kicked him to shut him up. "Hanji adopted Eren, Mikasa, and Armin after their families were killed by titans during the first wave of attacks. Ever wonder why the jaegers are called _jaegers_? Hanji is the definition of obsessive mom." Jean interjected while Eren cursed at him from under the bed.

Marco raised an eyebrow in thought but he did remember hearing about the adoption. It was something about Eren's utter desire to avenge his family that made her inspired to name the jaegers after him. "That would make sense then." He observed.

The three were silent for another few moments as they still heard footsteps outside. Then there was a knocking on their door. Jean was the one to stand up, making Marco continue blocking the view of Eren. He then cautiously approached the door and looked out through the peep hole.

Apparently whoever was on the other side granted him to open the door quickly. "Mikasa!" Jean grinned but the girl pushed him aside and made her way into the room without a word to Jean like some form of rejection.

"Eren." Mikasa said, walking over and then kneeling down to see under the bed. "Hanji is on the other side of the Shatterdome." She notified him. Eren was otherwise still curled up in a ball underneath the bed where Marco was sitting, at least until Marco got up to let Mikasa have more room.

Just as quickly as they had been forced to hide him, Mikasa pulled Eren out from under the bed and the two were gone in a matter of seconds with Jean still lamenting over Mikasa's lack of attention towards him. Marco, having noticed the interaction, stepped up next to his roommate. "You like her don't you?" He assumed with a nudge to Jean and an almost devious smile.

Jean sighed and shrugged but gave no other answer. He then stepped out the still open door, Marco following behind. The two continued on their path over to the Yankee Revolution and its pilots.

-o-

Reporters didn't make it up to the Alaskan Shatterdome often but a few nosy ones would show up from time to time at the order of some higher ups that were scrutinizing the Alaskan Shatterdome's progress. Though, progress was a lacking term. They didn't quite regress but they did make some good technological advances. Nothing was benefited from the fighting of titans and jaegers, however. There had been no change in the flow of incoming titans in a while and Hanji Zoe was focusing more on jaegers than titans for the moment. She still had her dream of getting one captive.

An event like the arrival of Yankee Revolution to its home would grant a few reporters for sure. Marlo Freudenberg was the type of reporter that you didn't want to catch at a bad time. He was self-righteous and often was hired by bigwigs to do their investigations for him with the catch that he get to report it in the news. Investigative journalist Marlo, the name everyone feared.

The name Hitch could be feared even more so. Hitch was a news reporter who showed up everywhere where she could do damage to someone and she reported almost every story Marlo came up with. The two had known each other in school and worked together ever since.

The appearance of Hitch and Marlo at the Alaskan Shatterdome was something to be feared. Erwin and Levi were some of their favorite people to criticize and usually any information they turned up would spur Nile Dok, one of the most anti-jaeger officials to ever exist. The male was fighting for every chance he could to remove the jaeger program from existence and just construct walls for everyone to live behind.

Erwin and Levi had been against his plans since he mentioned them because what if one of the walls was damaged? Then hundreds upon thousands of titans would wash over the earth and eat everyone. They'd have no defense for something like that and what good does sweeping it under the rug do anyway? Levi and Erwin weren't ready to give up their fight even after they were retired from the program.

That was why the two of them instantly soured at the sight of Marlo and Hitch hopping off of the same helicopter that dropped off Petra and Auruo. Petra and Auruo seemed to share the same sentiment as their faces were more disturbed than happy to be home.

At the sight of Levi standing next to Erwin, Petra instantly dashed over to say hello. She pushed through the small crowd of observers made up by rangers and mechanics with the occasional reporter. Auruo followed behind with a growing smirk on his face.

"Levi!" Petra grinned and for a moment Levi found himself smiling back, no matter how small the smile was. Erwin placed his hand on Levi's shoulder for a moment before pushing him forward with some slight force. Petra took the notion as being able to zoom in for a hug and wrapped her arms around the shorter male.

Levi, unaccustomed to affection by anyone else but the people he trusted, was shocked out of his smile and forced hug her back.

There was the snapping of a few cameras but Erwin and Auruo had managed to block out most of the interaction by hovering around the two. Once Petra let go of her mentor, Levi was left staring up at his two former cadets. "Good to be back." Auruo said, clapping him once on the shoulder and turning towards Erwin with a respectful nod.

As much as they were like family to Levi, Erwin was like everyone's overly serious uncle that could be fun from time to time. Though in reality, it was more like he was a second dad or something. Levi was almost like a father to all four of his original cadets.

Struggling to recover from the disaster that was Iceland and the fall of Winged Freedom, Erwin had called for Levi to receive four cadets to train. It was something to bide his time, something to help him heal. Somehow, in the midst of it all, Levi and those four cadets managed to bond in a way that was similar to drift partners. Never having been in each other's heads to fight giant monsters together, they still managed to drift on their own.

Petra, Auruo, Gunter, and Eldo were like Levi's kids if he were going to have any to claim as his own.

"How's Eren and the others?" Petra asked immediately, excited to be back home. "Did Cavalier Blanc finally get another pilot?" She questioned and Erwin interrupted for Levi.

He glanced back towards the white jaeger as it was hidden behind the man others in the hangar bay where they were taking Yankee Revolution. "We have a prospective cadet that looks to be compatible with our current pilot. Otherwise, Eren and the others are doing fine." He smiled, grinning at Petra and Auruo.

"About time. Cavalier has been out for years now." Auruo grumbled, turning to watch as Yankee Revolution was wheeled into the Shatterdome. It was a large and beautifully crafted jaeger. Revolution was one of the most classic designs, resembling something of a human but also retaining an armor-like physique. Plastered over its chest armor where a heart would normally be was an American flag, displaying more patriotism than any other jaeger.

Erwin and Levi stayed silent in response to Auruo's comment but didn't have to explain it as Marlo and Hitch pushed their way through the crowd and other reporters to talk to them in the rudest manner possible.

"Hi," Hitch greeted in an oddly devious manner that had an almost seductive undertone as she blinked at Auruo who was obviously the first person she could talk to. "I'm Hitch, I'm with the Global Titan Defence Corps News Station, we wanted to talk more about your moving here." She grinned and Marlo stood beside her with a notepad and recording device in hand.

Auruo was about to respond in what would most likely be a displeased manner when Erwin intervened for damage control. "We'll not be talking about this here. Contact us and we'll schedule a time." Erwin said, knowing very well that the two reporters would nose their way into staying up north with the Shatterdome for as long as possible to dig up dirt.

"I wasn't asking _you_, I was asking him." Hitch specified, pointing towards Auruo and giving Erwin the cold shoulder. Petra and Levi were standing back fuming in their own manners for their own reasons. Levi was displeased that anyone would shove aside Erwin's authority, even if he didn't outwardly display it other than glaring at Hitch and Petra was getting rather angry that Hitch would even try some level of flirtation with her partner.

Auruo glanced towards Erwin once before turning towards Hitch. "Like he said, we're not available. Lots of things to do, so little time." He shrugged plainly like there was nothing to do and wrapped an arm around Petra before sneering at Hitch and walking away.

Erwin and Levi followed, the four of them retreating back to the safety of the Shatterdome's indoors.

Hitch and Marlo were left standing in the dust, angry and upset that they'd received no answers yet and nothing to report back to the bigwigs that hired them. "Way to go, Marlo." Hitch grumbled, punching her partner in investigation. Marlo frowned and smacked her back.

"I didn't do anything." He defended himself. "I just took notes!"

-o-

Connie and Sasha were out battling titans still when dinner rolled around and Eren, Mikasa, Armin, Jean, and Marco settled into the cafeteria. Eren was keeping his head low in fear of being found by Hanji still. Evidently his surrogate mom hadn't found him yet but she was rampaging around the Shatterdome to do so.

The five of them were sitting at the dinner table eating some mash of foods that they didn't recognize. The officers table was empty and there was a rumor that Hitch and Marlo were investigating the premises. No one had seen Petra and Auruo yet.

This quickly changed when the doorway to the canteen opened and Erwin and Levi showed up with three people in tow. Erwin and Levi typically ate in their offices or elsewhere, probably in accordance to their relationship, however disrupted it usually was.

That was when Hanji pushed past the two commanding officers, looking around wildly for her 'kids'. As much as she would like for them to have fully accepted her as their mom, she was more like a crazy aunt to the three orphaned children she was guardian to.

The second Eren saw her, and she saw him, the woman brightened with a level of utter glee that couldn't be matched. The following spectacle was typical whenever Hanji left for business or Eren went elsewhere. The only ones in the entire filled cafeteria who reacted were the newer cadets who were not accustomed to Hanji's interactions were Eren.

"Ereeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen!" Hanji yelled excitedly as she ran at full speed towards her adopted child. Eren, wanting nothing more than to hide under the table he was sitting at and pretend he was dead, cringed and prepared for impact as it took the woman ten seconds to cross the entire cafeteria to reach him.

She'd practically tackled him to the floor, had he not already been sitting. "Oh, momma's missed you!" Hanji grinned.

"Hanji…" Eren grumbled, looking to Mikasa and Armin for help. That was when Hanji turned her attention to her other two 'children'. She smiled brightly at Mikasa who just looked back at her blankly. (The two were never close). She then turned to Armin who was grinning awkwardly. Eren was obviously her favorite but Armin was her second.

Luckily for the three, the arrival of Erwin, Levi, Petra, and Auruo disrupted any further tortures for the pilots. Petra was the first to speak as she promptly sat down beside Armin. "So, it's been a long while!" She greeted just as Auruo took his place beside her. To their surprise, Erwin and Levi sat down on the same side that Jean and Marco sat at.

Marco shifted in his seat awkwardly at the presence of Erwin sitting next to him. He was more than nervous to be sitting with the director of the program at the Alaskan Shatterdome _and_ such a decorated hero.

"Sir," Marco greeted and Erwin smiled at him in response. Jean didn't seem to care about ranking in the moment and almost possessively pulled Marco away from Erwin just a tad. Marco shot him a look when it happened but otherwise said nothing.

"It's great to have you two back in Alaska." Armin stated, causing Petra and Auruo to nod their heads sagely. Petra seemed to be excited about meeting the newer additions of their pilot's family up in the north.

She turned towards Marco and Jean. "I don't believe I've met you before." She said, gesturing towards the two sitting directly across from her. Auruo nodded his head, pointing towards Jean. "You're the pilot to Cavalier Blanc." He assumed and Jean shrugged in response.

Marco quickly elbowed Jean in the side for being rude. "That's exactly what he is." Marco added, sticking out a hand to shake theirs. "I'm Marco Bodt. I'm only a cadet right now but I hope I can plan to stay here in Alaska."

Petra and Auruo glanced once to each other after surveying Jean and Marco's interactions before smiling and nodding. "I think you'll find a place alright." Auruo commented, shooting Erwin and Levi a knowing look as well. This was definitely their prospective cadet.

Hanji interrupted then, also seeing what they saw. "Have you found anyone for my new jaeger? Three pilots is a challenge. I thought Jean, Armin, and Eren would work for sure." She changed the subject, looking towards Levi and Erwin expectantly.

"Not a strong enough neural handshake." Levi replied dryly and Hanji hummed. They were probably the only Shatterdome that wouldn't put slightly compatible pilots together to go die on their first run. They were highly against the practice and had seen it done too many times to allow it to happen under their own control.

Erwin looked almost happy, sitting there with his pilots and his fellow officers. "I think it'll turn out well. We got many good cadets this go around." He glanced towards Marco who was nervously smiling back. Erwin then turned towards Hanji. "We have three cadets we want you to test next week. They look to be compatible enough at a first glance."

Hanji immediately grinned deviously in anticipation. "A-ok with me." She looked to be thinking about her jaeger finally getting piloted. It was nothing more than another experiment for her.

She then stood, the look on her face seeming to change as she hummed in thought. "Well, I should be getting back to the lab. Been away for a few days and I'm itching to get back." She said almost like a cover up, ruffling Eren's hair with her hand and then turning to run off to the science department.

Armin watched her cautiously and Erwin and Levi suspected something. It was likely Levi would investigate it later.

Otherwise, dinner proceeded on as normal. All of the pilots reminisced and Jean found himself paying more attention to Marco than anyone else at the table. Marco was focused on whatever Erwin and Levi had to say, enamored with the presence of the two higher ups.

The outlook seemed to be turning up, even with the presence of Marlo and Hitch and the recent loss of Cosmic Chaser.

* * *

_**Thanks for the reviews everyone, hope to update soon. :)**_


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